snarkychaser's Blog

Snarky is my elusive muse. It is grasping for the unobtainable that causes anguish, and in the anguish and negative space, creativity can flourish.However, I am afraid that Snarky has given me very little to chase after lately....maybe...if I'm really lucky, he will send me a picture of his poison ivy.

Germs Germs Germs!

I had a breakfast meeting today with old friends and networking colleagues. The restaurant was a precious brunch place in a suburban New Jersey town. The chain is called, Turning Point.

When I saw this door out of the corner of my eye as I left the bathroom, I did a double take. I needed to share my new find with everyone. Below are some of the comments on my Facebook post. Perhaps you all have seen this, but I never have. Should I install one in my home?

It looks like an interesting sort of bondage device...

As long as you don't wipe your nose on your sleeve.

I've always found that bathroom to be a bit OCD, but that's just me. (Just yesterday I launched into a big discussion of the hygiene hypothesis with daughter in order to explain that the school nurse was wrong when she told the kids they should use Clorox wipes on everything. My daughter endured the science lesson for awhile but then asked if she could go back to Harry Potter.)

I can envision the personal injury lawsuit which will ensue when someone barges in the door while someone else has their arm in that thing.

Clorox wipes on everything? Now that's a bit OCD. The door handle at Turning Point looks like a pretty good idea, for the same reason the oversized "paddles" on hospital and other institutional sink faucets are a good idea.

People if we are not exposed to germs and if we refuse to allow our immune systems to react to them we are a.) going to continue to develop Super Germs and b.) create a pandemic that will make the Spanish Influenza and the Bubonic plague look like a day in the park...so nut up and touch the damn door...

I don't mind germs on my hands. I do mind other people's shit on my hands.

Being exposed to the occasional rhinovirus to give your immune system a workout is probably not a bad idea. I draw the line at amoebic dysentery and e. coli. When it's offered, I'll use the funky handle.

The first thing I thought of when I looked at the picture was a bondage device. You poor unfortunate girl, you think like me. When I use those stalls I either use my feet or my elbow I try not to touch anything that does not belong to my own anatomy with my hand. You are lucky your daughter even reads Beatrice Potter mine only looks at catalogues.

I always had a cold of some sort during the winter time most of my life. But until I had to take flu shots in the Air Force, I never got the flu. Go figure. I believed it was because my immune system was readily and steadily bombarded by the germs of family, friends and complete strangers all that time and so had a much stronger response to the really nasty stuff.

An old joke my dad told me:A Navy man and a Marine walk into the bathroom and use the urinals.The squid finishes his business, zips up and turns to leave.The jarhead finishes up and walks to the sink. In a loud voice he says, "In the Marines, they taught us to wash our hands after we go to the bathroom."The squid doesn't miss a beat. As he grabs the door knob and opens it he says, "In the Navy, they taught us not to pee on our hands."

This whole cleanliness thing is way over done. Sure, we should do our best to stop the spread of germs when reasonable, but the door handle, in the words of one of your FB quotes, looks like a lawsuit pending the right timing.

I think we should send our kids to school and the one with chicken pox should be able to shake every other kid's hand and let's just get it over with, for crying out loud. The chances of a fatal reaction to chicken pox at that age is more miniscule than the odds of contracting a deadly reaction to a measles vaccination.

Sometimes, common sense notions die an ignoble death due to lack of same.

Jack. These comments are those from my facebook friends...the ones in bold. I actually reserve the right to keep my mouth shut until I try to use it correctly. I am 1. bad at following directions However, The picture looks as though you need to use right hand but then it would be opening right into my face...if I tried this. Or is it the backwards reflection from my photography. Only I would have managed to put my own electrodes on for my halter monitor back wards from looking at the diagram.

"I don't mind germs on my hands. I do mind other people's shit on my hands." And right before you're going to eat a meal, nothing like ingesting a bit of feces with your burger! I love it when there's a garbage can for the paper towels right by the door.

I like the paper towel in my hand to open the door. But usually I use just one little strong finger to open the door if possible. And when all else fails I just tough it up. Immunity is earned. I can just see you taking this photo and thinking about it all. I love your mind.